If a 5-7 Nebraska Cornhuskers team was going to go to a bowl game, it might as well have been the Foster Farms Bowl. After all, farms are the right place for cornhusking.
Nebraska scored 30 unanswered points overlapping the second and third quarters to take control and post a 37-29 win over the UCLA Bruins on Saturday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Nebraska finished their season with a 6-7 record while the Bruins dropped to 8-5.
The Bruins came out strong, taking the opening kickoff and marching 79 yards in 10 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Paul Perkins scored the touchdown on a one-yard plunge.
Nebraska immediately responded with a 12-play, 75 yard drive to get even. Imani Cross took it in from the one-yard line.
The Huskers were driving for the go-ahead score, but quarterback Tommy Armstrong, Jr. fumbled on the UCLA 14 yard-line and it was recovered by the Bruins. Four plays later, quarterback Josh Rosen hit Kenneth Walker with a 60-yard scoring strike to give UCLA the lead.
After a Nebraska punt, the Rosen struck again, this time a 26-yard TD pass to Nate Starks completing another four play drive, to go up 21-7 with 7:55 left in the first half.
Nebraska responded with, of course, a four-play scoring drive covering 75 yards with Terrell Newby running it in from the three yard line. After a UCLA punt, the Huskers drove for the tying score, capped by an Andy Janovich three-yard run with only 52 seconds remaining in the half.
The Cornhuskers took the opening second half kickoff and marched 78 yards in 9 plays to take a 27-21 lead. The try for the extra point failed. After a Drew Brown 20-yard field goal, Nebraska extended the run to 30 consecutive points with Armstrong scoring on a three-yard run, making it 37-21 with just 49 seconds elapsed in the fourth quarter.
UCLA got within one score with a 9-yard TD pass from Rosen to Jordan Payton and a two-point conversion on a pass from Rosen to Thomas Duarte. The Bruins had another opportunity to get even, but Rosen’s pass from the Nebraska 32 was intercepted in the end zone by Chris Johnson with 2:54 remaining. Nebraska was able to run out the clock.
Rosen finished with 319 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Armstrong had 174 yards passing with a touchdown as well as 76 yards rushing and another TD.
Nebraska dominated time of possession, holding the ball for more than 38 minutes while UCLA had it for less than 22 minutes. The Cornhuskers had 31 first downs to 17 for the Bruins.
